Dropped ball and the end of the half.

[DazN]

I had a slightly unusual one yesterday in an U12 league game involving a team that is quite well known for being ‘difficult’ (this was my 4th game since qualifying)

The first half was almost at a close with seconds left when a lad got ball to the face on the halfway line right in front of the parents so I blew the whistle and stopped the game to check he was ok (he was). He didn’t need any further attention so we were ready to restart with a dropped ball (his team was still in possession after the incident)

By this time we were well past any added time and with the ball in such a neutral position I told the player I was going to blow for half time as soon as the ball was in play which I did. This led to laughter and derisions
from the parents shouting ‘What was the point of that ref?’ ‘What are you doing?’ etc

Then the CAR chimes in that I don’t know what I’m doing as I didn’t give a foul for something or other. As I said they are a difficult team to deal with at the best of times.

So my question is this: Was I wrong to blow up once the ball was back in play or could I have ended it with the ball in my hand (ie before the restart)? My thinking was that if I ended the half before I checked on the player a head injury could have been missed which is why I did what I did.

 

[one]

Was I wrong to blow up once the ball was back in play

No

could I have ended it with the ball in my hand (ie before the restart)?

Yes

As the referee you determine when time is up and blow the whstle. Ball being in play or not is irrelevant. There are very few occasions you would be wrong to blow time and the only one I can think of is after you blow for a penalty and before the penalty kick is complete.

Don't put up with rubbish from players, team officials and especially you CAR and address them firmly and with confidence. Ignore parents and spectators unless it's abusive or persistent in which case have an official take care of it, don't engage with them.

 

[DazN]

I felt (and still feel) I did the right thing. Yes I definitely need to ignore parents. I stupidly tried to explain why I had done what I had done but that just drew sarcastic laughter.

 

[Taity78]

A great learning experience - player welfare is what I'd of blown for - makes no odds when the time is - reading your post it was U12 which then opens up the other team complaining that he headed the ball - personally I think you have done right and as @one said - try to ignore the spectators

 

[DazN]

A great learning experience - player welfare is what I'd of blown for - makes no odds when the time is - reading your post it was U12 which then opens up the other team complaining that he headed the ball - personally I think you have done right and as @one said - try to ignore the spectators

Yeah it was a sliced kick by a teammate and caught him in the cheek / temple from close range so definitely not intentional. Other team were fine with it. It was his own team's spectators that were complaining, which is what I found bizarre... It was their player with a potential injury!

 

[GraemeS]

You weren't wrong. But even in added time, you're still entitled to add further time for any injuries etc. if you choose to.

I think in this situation, my approach would have been to take note of how long I was still intending to play when the player went down (say 5 seconds) and then before dropping the ball, tell the player in question "you've got literally 5 seconds here" before dropping it.

If he immediately pumps it into the box then great, you've allowed for something to happen after the drop. Or if he passes it backwards, you're fully justified in blowing almost immediately and can direct all questions to him - "I told him he had only a few seconds and he chose to use that to keep possession".

 

[DazN]

You weren't wrong. But even in added time, you're still entitled to add further time for any injuries etc. if you choose to.

I think in this situation, my approach would have been to take note of how long I was still intending to play when the player went down (say 5 seconds) and then before dropping the ball, tell the player in question "you've got literally 5 seconds here" before dropping it.

If he immediately pumps it into the box then great, you've allowed for something to happen after the drop. Or if he passes it backwards, you're fully justified in blowing almost immediately and can direct all questions to him - "I told him he had only a few seconds and he chose to use that to keep possession".

This is pretty much what I did... If the injury hadn't happened I was about to end the half.

I checked on the lad, then picked up the ball and said loudly so everyone could hear (parents too as we were 3 yards from the touch line): 'Once I drop the ball I'm going to blow the whistle as the half is over'

None of the players had any complaints, it was purely the parents and then the CAR chipped in.

 

[Kes]

This is pretty much what I did... If the injury hadn't happened I was about to end the half.

I checked on the lad, then picked up the ball and said loudly so everyone could hear (parents too as we were 3 yards from the touch line): 'Once I drop the ball I'm going to blow the whistle as the half is over'

None of the players had any complaints, it was purely the parents and then the CAR chipped in.

It's all about how you sell it.

Like has already been mentioned, ignore the daft sarcasm from onlookers or players and just be confident that you were correct.

For future reference, you COULD have:

1. Simply looked at your watch and said "Well that's actually half time now everyone" and just blown up.
2. Allowed them 10-20 seconds playing time after the dropped ball (since it was on half-way) and then visibly looked at your watch and then blown before anything promising developed.

These things will always be used by those watching/participating to ridicule a referee when they can so you either develop a thick skin to ignore it or possibly avoid it by opting for one of the two options above (which I'm guessing you will now if it were to happen again?).

 

[GraemeS]

On one hand, I'm inclined to just dismiss chippy parents getting involved when they don't know what's happened. But in the interests of not doing that and trying to find development - how long was left in your head when the ball was dropped?

If there's enough time to do anything productive (i.e. if he'd immediately just whacked it into the opposition PA and you were intending to let that play out) then I think you're obliged to drop the ball and give them those few seconds to act. And in that situation, if the player then doesn't do that, you should have a few seconds of you stood there, basically staring at him and your watch with the whistle raised near your mouth to clearly communicate that he's the one wasting the last few seconds.

Conversely, if there isn't even time for that, I think you would have been better off just blowing for the half while the player was down. You could have ended the half as soon as he's hit in the face - then any recovery and treatment could have occurred in the half time break. Or you could have gone for the initial check on him, made sure he's OK and then straightened up and blown for half time. There's no real benefit to going through the drop procedure in this case.

Again and to be clear - the parents were wrong to get on your back about this, nothing you did was wrong in law and that shouldn't be minimised. But in terms of communicating your thought process, I think perhaps you did choose a slightly messy approach and it would have been more optimal to clearly communicate you were either side of the "half is over" line rather than trying to straddle it like you did.

 

[DazN]

Thanks both.

I think my inexperience showed as I actually had no idea whether I could end the game with the ball in my hand. (I know now that I can!)

I can see now it was a bit clumsy on my behalf. I think my worry was, that time was up and what happens if they boot it long and set up a goal scoring chance and then I deny them that chance by blowing up.

I suspect those same parents would have moaned whatever I had done. I do just need to learn to ignore!

 

[Martiju]

I can see now it was a bit clumsy on my behalf. I think my worry was, that time was up and what happens if they boot it long and set up a goal scoring chance and then I deny them that chance by blowing up.

I suspect those same parents would have moaned whatever I had done. I do just need to learn to ignore!

I think this is partly about you worrying about being absolutely accurate re: timing and how you approach that with doing 'what football expects'. Just to clarify, you can't be wrong here, because ultimately timekeeping is down to you. However, you can observe what happens generally so that nobody is surprised, which is that there is no 100% accuracy and that attacks are normally allowed to play out. So I would say 'we're in the last few seconds' (rather than be specific about actual seconds) and see what happens, thinking ok, if he boots it long that's fine, let it play out. There may be a last minute goal but that's ok. And if there isn't, well that's ok too.

Just for full disclosure, for a while I was in favour of blowing when a team was about to take a goal kick, rather than waiting for it to be in the air (in the days when there were very few short kicks!). That worked ok for me a few times, until once when a GK had to fetch the ball from a hedge and I blew after it was placed. Again, nothing wrong with what I did in law, but their perception was that I'd made them walk backwards and forwards unnecessarily, so I got unnecessary grief for it!

 

[Ref X]

@DazN Thanks for posting this! I think it's a really helpful topic and will get us all learning how to better deal with the crowd.

I had to read your post 3x to make sure I wasn't missing something. IMO, you did nothing wrong and everything right.

• Safety first, so blowing your whistle to stop play when a player gets hit in the face is clearly the right move.
• You choose when to blow the whistle for halftime, so whether the ball was in your hand or right after the drop ball, that's your call

The biggest thing I take away from this is that parents often don't know the LOTG. Most argue calls because they're armchair referees and don't know the intricacies of play. These parents were giving you a hard time but really they don't know sh*t.

I assume the reason you completed the dropball and then called for halftime is because when you see referees in the pros, they almost always call for the end of a half during active play? That's what I usually do to and for the same reason. I think the lower the level, the more lenient you can be with this. Sometimes for anything under high school, I'll call for the end of the half during a goal kick when the ball has been kicked far and the goalkeeper will be running for 20-30 seconds to get the ball. Saves the GK a run and no real benefit to waiting until the ball is in play anyway.

I think to a point, it's good to referee challenging players with challenging coaches and parents. They teach you to have conviction even in the face of doubt and keep your confidence even when people are trying to take it away from you. If we're going to move up the ranks, we're going to encounter this 100 more times. Use it as a learning moment; keep calm and carry on!

 

[DazN]

I assume the reason you completed the dropball and then called for halftime is because when you see referees in the pros, they almost always call for the end of a half during active play? That's what I usually do to and for the same reason. I think the lower the level, the more lenient you can be with this. Sometimes for anything under high school, I'll call for the end of the half during a goal kick when the ball has been kicked far and the goalkeeper will be running for 20-30 seconds to get the ball. Saves the GK a run and no real benefit to waiting until the ball is in play anyway.

I think to a point, it's good to referee challenging players with challenging coaches and parents. They teach you to have conviction even in the face of doubt and keep your confidence even when people are trying to take it away from you. If we're going to move up the ranks, we're going to encounter this 100 more times. Use it as a learning moment; keep calm and carry on!

Yes I think so. I just didn't know what was / wasn't correct (although I do now!)

Good point about challenging situations although I have no ambition to rise the ranks (too old for one!)... I just want to do the best I can!

 

[Ref X]

I just want to do the best I can!

Same principles apply!

 

[RustyRef]

Personally I would either just blow up there and then or allow a few more seconds after dropping the ball. You weren't wrong to blow up straight away though.

Similar situation is where a goal is scored. Time might be up, but in blowing for full or half time without restarting you are effectively saying the ball crossed the line the very exact second that time was up. That's why most referees will restart the game and play another 20 to 30 seconds.

 

[socal lurker]

Similar situation is where a goal is scored. Time might be up, but in blowing for full or half time without restarting you are effectively saying the ball crossed the line the very exact second that time was up. That's why most referees will restart the game and play another 20 to 30 seconds.

I got this exact advice from a retired FIFA ref 40 years ago . . .

 

[Ref X]

Sometimes when I work back-to-back-to-back games, I blow a little early in these situations because I don't want later kickoff times to be pushed back.

But in general, I think this is good advice. Thanks!

 

[RefJef]

Just for full disclosure, for a while I was in favour of blowing when a team was about to take a goal kick, rather than waiting for it to be in the air (in the days when there were very few short kicks!). That worked ok for me a few times, until once when a GK had to fetch the ball from a hedge and I blew after it was placed. Again, nothing wrong with what I did in law, but their perception was that I'd made them walk backwards and forwards unnecessarily, so I got unnecessary grief for it!

I actively do this - if you don’t the ball’s likely to remain in the hedge.

I remember a few (several!) years ago, I‘d not been long on my Sunday league, and was doing two teams I hadn’t refed before. We all know the end of the game Is coming when the ball gets hoofed off the pitch. I’m near the home team manager, who says “you may as well blow now, ref”. I reply that “I’ll wait till that player gets the ball, otherwise no-ones going to fetch it.“ Player gets the ball, takes the throw in, I blow the whistle. “Cheers ref,” replies the manager, “I hadn’t thought of that” as one of his players gathers up the ball and heads over to his gaffer. Always think I got a bit of kudos with that - perhaps I wasn’t the worse ref they’d ever seen after all!